I don’t know about you, but have you ever thought what I’ve thought when I hear a certain prayer?

We hear of someone, such as a friend or a relative, who have lost a “loved one” and are in need of our prayers. And every time we pray for them we pray that “someone might be saved through this circumstance.” And, to be honest, most of the time I’m thinking “yeah right…someone just died, people.” Of course, this isn’t my though all the time, but I have thought it before.

Now I also do realize that God can work through situations like those where someone has died to bring a person to think about death, and where they will go after death. And that may very well be a good thing. It is certainly a way that God can work in a person’s life.

Yet I wonder, when we pray, why we do not say “Lord, I pray that you will use this beautiful day to work in someone’s life” instead of only praying that when someone is seriously ill or has died. Why don’t we pray that God will work in the good situations when people are feeling great? Why do we only turn to God when things are going wrong? Why do we expect God to work only in dire circumstances?

Really, I begin to wonder if we’ve become stuck in a “prayer rut,” just repeating the same old phrase over and over again, not realizing that we haven’t shown our full trust in God. He works when the sun is shining and when the rain is falling. I believe that we need to keep that in mind when we go before God.

Let’s pray that God will work through someones life whether they are sick or not.

“Lord, I pray that you will use this beautiful day to work in someone’s life.”

Good point. But to give some credit to those pray-ers to whom you are refering, most people do not let God work in their lives until something terrible happens. Still, your point stands and I will hold it in mind from now on. Thanks!

Excellent post, Tim! I have often wondered this myself. Why do we direct our prayers to someone only when that someone has gone through pain or misery? The reason, I believe, is that when we see a person in pain we realize that this person needs help. And only then, do we go to God. Only then do we pray that God gives a person strength and blessings.

I never thought about it that way before, great post! I see that reflected through through out history, where God’s people keep turning to idols, and then when something devestating comes they turn back to God. Then again Paul writes in Romans 1:19-20, â€œsince what may be known about God is plain to themâ€¦ since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualitiesâ€”his eternal power and divine natureâ€”have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.â€ SO I think that God really does want us to see his who he is through the splendor of what he created.